U.S. Navy Alfred Nisonoff (1923–2001) was a 20th-century chemist who helped to experimentally determine the molecular structure of the antibody, and, as a result, made major contributions to the field of immunology.
His parents moved the family to South River, New Jersey, where they operated a butcher shop and a grocery store throughout Alfred's childhood.
After graduation, he received a state scholarship to attend college and enrolled in Rutgers University, within less than 50 miles of his home.
He then took the opportunity to pursue graduate research in biochemistry in September 1946, with Frederick W. Barnes at Johns Hopkins University through funds provided by the G.I.
David Pressman was working in one of Linus Pauling’s groups exploring the antigenic specificity of antibodies against haptenic determinants.
Nisonoff's most important work started when he began the enzymatic cleavage of rabbit antibodies to better determine the structure that contributed to their specificity in disease.
Nisonoff's work continued to concentrate on efforts to determine how the structure of the antibody reflects its function and specificity as an immunological tool.
Nisonoff focused the remainder of his career in a variety of positions within the immunology community, including work for the Department of Biological Chemistry in Chicago and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Nisonoff's research work in determining the structure and functions of small proteins called antibodies made major steps towards our modern understanding of the immune system.